


Spoils of the Dark Crystal

by Cosmic_Iguana



Category: The Dark Crystal: Age of Resistance (TV)
Genre: F/M, Learning its okay to show emotions, Lots of references to the books, Original Characters - Freeform, Original Story - Freeform, Sifa x Spriton story, Whimsical tales of greed and betrayal, set before the events of AOR, sifa
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2021-02-11
Updated: 2021-02-11
Packaged: 2021-03-17 22:08:27
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 3,638
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/29357736
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Cosmic_Iguana/pseuds/Cosmic_Iguana
Summary: Having lived her life on the waters of Thra. Sera, accustomed to a life of thrill, harsh climates and danger, is faced with all her dreams suddenly coming true. Endless, bountiful wealth for the taking. Beyond what any other Gelfling could ever fathom. All she needs to do in order to achieve her dreams is conduct the most daring heist into the hidden, mythical vault under the Maudra's palace of Sami Thicket. At the behest of the Lord's of the Crystal...Now, far from the shores of her home. Sera leaves for the Spriton plains with her family. Finding treasure, betrayal, secrets, love, and an artefact that would spearhead a great darkening set to swallow Thra whole...
Relationships: Kylan (Dark Crystal)/Original Female Character(s)
Kudos: 1





	Spoils of the Dark Crystal

**Author's Note:**

> Usually, I would upload more than one chapter when beginning a story. However, I am unsure how alive The Dark Crystal fandom is and while I have worked on this chapter and this story for a very long time and simply adore this world by Jim Henson...updates may be slow. But, I still want to post the introduction of my character, and the introduction to a familiar character from the show I hope you recognise. ;) 
> 
> Because I have thought about this for so long I intend on finishing it. Yet, updates might come slowly. Unless I know people really want to read this, I will work on this for my enjoyment :)
> 
> Comments and Kudos would be appreciated! They help writers so much xxx

Pesky Seven was a gambling game invented by the Stonewood clan; meaning its rules were easy to understand. Dice, something to bet on, and a bit of luck was all that was needed in order to play. Easy… _ and easily exploitable too. _

“Impossible!” One half of the crowd shouted.

“Outlandish!” Another half guffawed.

“She used one of those Sifan spells! The filthy conjurer!”

In a snowy back alley in the cold city of Ha’rar; The flame-haired gelfling, Sera, tosses a set of dice onto a piece of wood laid on the snow. And for the sixth time in a row, she wins the round, reaping the benefits once again.

When her opponent, Darius, realises his defeat; it was hard for her to not relish in the way colour drained from his face. Even harder to stifle the big, twisting grin that worked its way across her golden face. She brought the bag of silver to her bejewelled ear, giving it a quick shake. It clinked with what must have been ten whole pieces and some bitties thrown into the mix, a sound so devilishly sweet to her ears it could make her drool.

All afternoon Darius had filled her unwilling ears with boasts about his so-called ‘legendary fortune’:  _ silver the size of thirty podlings, shinies heavier than the Silver Mountains! _ All from playing Pesky Seven!  _ She was...skeptical, of course _ . 

A man as seemingly prideful as hee...she found it hard to believe he wasn’t either cheating or picking on childlings to bet against rather than risk the crumbling of his pride and reputation. He continued, saying that his bulwark of luck would withstand her  _ sharp, Sifan wits. _ That he would leave her with only the clothes on her back once he was through. 

She was more than happy to prove him wrong - she  _ had _ to prove him wrong after that comment. And the icing on the cake of her benefits was that his wagging tongue had been clamped firmly behind his now sealed lips...for the time being…

“Got a nice sound, it does,” She gleams, giving the bag another cocky shake as she stared Darius in the eye.

Her brother,  **_Kit,_ ** had once told her to be civil when winning anything. It showed honour and good character. Those traits were all fine and dandy, but today she couldn’t  _ \- and didn’t want to - _ hide the satisfaction of defeating him. Especially because he was so vain and insufferable. 

“A Sifa winning.  _ In our own city _ nevertheless!” Another exasperated voice harrumphed.

Despite Maudra Mayrin’s strict ban on any and all forms of betting, Ha’rar was rich in nobles looking for ways to lose their coin. Sera was more than happy to oblige in helping them be rid of it.  _ She was providing a service! _ And if Darius found out she cheated? Well...what was he going to do? Call for the Paladins?  _ That was a swift slope to the Ha’rar dungeons.  _

She scooped up her dice, planting a kiss on them. Sera then stuffed her winnings in her patchy, fur coat pocket. Even though the attention she was getting wasn’t the good kind, she couldn’t help the thrill that rushed through her. The abashed expression of Darius, the crow’s looming gaze as they stutter.  _ Being the centre of attention? It felt good... _

However, her fun was to be cut short by more nonsense.  _ Magic, witchcraft  _ and _ sorcery _ were on the lips of all. Such idle fantasies slipped so easily from their mouths….it would have beckoned her to chuckle, if they weren't so aggressively sincere in their accusations.

Retaining her confidence; She hid her worry behind spritely eyes and a masked grin. “Outlandish? Impossible? Perhaps _ tis all of those things _ , and yet I managed it!”  _ Just act like the boisterous, cocky Sifa they expect you to be, and maybe they’ll ease off. And leave as quickly as your short little legs will carry you.  _

She then casted a rather pointed look at the Vapra who had accused her of witchcraft. “And I didn’t need the help of bloody so-called;  _ Sifan magic, _ in order to do it!” She huffed.

Honestly, she wasn’t even sure such a thing existed! The Sifa were known for their charms and superstitions, but magic? Especially the kind of magic that wins an advantage in gambling? Unless the Sifa were hiding such knowledge from her - to which she would be very annoyed - it was mere fantasy! 

Where would they even get such an idea? _ Or was it mere ignorance.  _ What a shocker it would be if the Vapra were merely leaping at conclusions... _ again. _

Her opponent, Darius, did not seem so convinced of her innocence. He wrinkled his nose and gazed upon Sera with a suspecting eye. “Something isn’t right,” He said, with half a mind that she would start sprouting magic from the thumbs. 

The crowd agreed that something was fishy, murmurs of approval filtered into the air; she felt like prey caught in a snare, waiting with a bloody leg for the hunter to come. She rolled her dice into the centre of her palm, letting her long sleeves drape over her knuckles to hide them.

“‘Tis just luck mate,” She countered, trying to sound as innocent as possible. “In your case, ‘tis shoddy luck. Perhaps you shouldn’t have been so quick to voice your skills when it came to actually proving them,”

Darius’s face was like thunder.

“Tell me plainly how it is you rolled the number seven exactly six times in a row?! It has to be some kind of nasty trick! Nobody just does that!” He shouted. A gaze chased after the bag of silver in her pocket and she felt her fingers itch for her dagger, which was securely tucked inside her ragged boot. She thought better of it however. He surely wouldn’t stoop so low as to steal what he lost in front of a large audience.

Not that he was capable of inflicting any harm upon her. No, from when she had sized him up; Darius’s arms were capable of little more than motioning to his servants to fetch him stuff. She was no brawler herself, maybe a few muscles from a life spent taming ship sails and fishing. _ But should it come to decking the poxed-scab, he would surely crumble like paper. _

As these amusing thoughts passed, her face was the perfect image of innocence.

“I don’t know what tricks you're claiming I’ve used, but I assure you, no such spells, incantations, chants, conjurations, or tricky witchcraft ‘twere used by me,” She repeats, hoping that would be the end of the conversation. That she could go back to her ship before any of the crew had realised she was missing. And with a bag full of silver to keep any interested in tattling quiet. “Now, if you don’t mind. I’ve got an afternoon to spend planning on how I’m going to spend all your riches,”

Yet, the last thing on his mind apparently, was letting her walk away. 

Face hot and shaking, a frustrated snarl - more akin to that of a primal beast - ripped from his throat as she went to leave. “You’re not going anywhere till I’ve gotten to the bottom of this!” And without warning, he rushed her.

When Sera felt his spindly fingers coil around her wrist like vines, she thrusted the older man back hard as if he had burned her.

“Get off!” She searched the crowd for help, but none seemed even remotely interested in stepping in. A cold breeze from the Ha’rar mountains swept through the alley, brushing her hair and sending ripples through her skin. As if in agreement that she was all alone.

“We’ve all heard about what’s going on in Sami Thicket  _ witch! _ Now your lot thinks they can just come to Ha’rar and spread your filthy magic!” Darius shouted and the more he raised his voice the more the crowd’s enthusiasm grew. “Come on! Cough up the truth!”

She looked at him, waiting for an explanation of some kind. But they didn’t seem in the mood to give her a speech about  _ what in Thra was happening in Sami Thicke _ t. Nor how she had anything to do with it. No, they looked ready to jump her now feeling justified in their hatred.

As much as she wanted to bark back, she was greatly outnumbered. She could run sure,  _ a bloody fine runner she was indeed when pressed.  _ But she didn’t know the streets as well as they undoubtedly did. They’d only catch up or cut her off somewhere. No, her only option was talking her way out of it.

“Come on mate, ‘tis silly to get riled up over poxing nothing,” She urged, looking around frantically

To her right, there was a mark scratched into a wooden foundation that was a part of some scaffolding, sparking an idea in her mind. The mark -  _ which Sera knew well  _ \- had been etched into the likeness of the creature known as the locksnake; a sign of wealth and security for most in Thra. 

However, to those who understood why it had been purposefully scratched there, and for those who had been looking for it specifically, it signified something else: it meant a safe place for breaking the law. For finding people of  _ like mindedness. _ It marked somewhere you could indulge in depravity without getting caught. Enjoy freedom beyond the Maudra’s restricting gaze. 

It meant  **_opportunity_ ** most of all.

_ She fondled a golden amulet beneath her shirt... _

“This, this right here! We’re all here because we were looking for this sign. You and me might be from separate clans, but we’re both here because tis silly how strict the All-Maudra is with her laws!” She emphatically points to the locksnake. Everyone watches her. Suspicion slowly dwindling in their eyes. “You and me are linked by common interest, in the eyes of your Maudra we are equal in our rebellious nature. Don’t you see? She wants us to be at each other’s throats! Wants us turning on each other; tis why this game is honest and fair. Out of respect for a similar minded rogue, aye? T’were you some random noble and we were far from the locksnake, I’d have cheated, aye. I admit I would have. But you aren’t…”

She reluctantly grips his shoulder, fluttering her lashes as she smoothes her voice so it felt like silk to his ears. “So I promise, I did not cheat. I won everything fair and square...thief’s honour,” She dramatically slaps her chest, bowing. Knowing there was no such thing....

Eventually, those predatory stares flee from the eyes of the crowd. Begrudgingly, seeing sense in her words. Much to the disappointment of Darius. Who still watched with a shadow of suspicion.

Sera sighs as the air starts to unwind and uncoil. Ignoring the stammering of Darius, who hopelessly tried to come up with a new string of accusations. Sera Turns to leave once again before he does manage to come up with something taking away her opportunity to flee.

Fate was not so kind however...

“Wait, what’s that!” A voice rings and instantly Sera realizes her palm suddenly feels empty.

The crowd and Darius look towards the same spot in the snow. To her horror, realisations flash across each and every fair face as she’s finally caught in the lie. Throat and stomach trade spaces, her mouth numbed by dryness. Her dice - spread out against the snow - impossibly bear the number seven once again... _ when she hadn’t rolled them. _

“They’re loaded!” Darius is beyond furious, though she sees a speck of joy teter in his scrunched face. “By Thra, you cheating little minx! Grab her, now!”

Sera’s throat suddenly feels dry as multiple silhouettes start coming towards her, trampling on her dice with fury embedded into their eyes.

Deciding a beating wasn’t worth her biased dice, Sera propels herself towards the exit. Breath rips from her lungs as she lunges. Only to get hung back by a pair of arms, swinging her back. Flung face first into the snow, the cold bites and scratches at her - like tiny claws stretching her skin. Even as she picks herself up both of her arms are fixed in place by two Vapra; squeezing her so hard she fears they might cut off her circulation.

Darius comes to the fore, inching himself close enough that she can smell his expensive perfume. It burns her nose.

“You filthy pirates think you can just walk into Ha’rar and cheat its respected citizens? You disgust me,” He snaps, a few spittles fly from his mouth and Sera cringes as they land on her cheek. “I knew something was up, you Sifa are just begging to be warred with,”

He was all talk. She held her chin up high in cocky defiance. 

“Technically…” She forces a grin. “Us pirates aren’t considered Sifa, mate. We deviated from their laws and ethics. They wouldn’t take too kindly for you to be lumping me in with them,” She corrects, trying to make herself laugh at her situation despite the hammering in her chest. She wouldn’t give them the satisfaction of seeing her whimper.

Darius does not find it funny, instead he nods at her captors and soon she is being dragged away by his lackeys. So swift is the exchange she believes he had planned this all along…

Where would they even take her? Why not just take the bag of silver and throw a snowball in her face? She looked around frantically wondering where they would be taking her, but all she can see is tall walls that made up the alley.

“Maybe you’re taking me somewhere sunny?” She asks hopefully. Desperate for some manner of communication.“Somewhere hot, where you’ll untie me and we’ll drink and feast and become the bestest of friends. My kind aren’t really built for the cold,”

“I don’t think so,” One of the Vapra grumbles.

No more jokes, no more forced laughter or making light of her situation. She is well and truly fearful of what these Vapra will do. To them, she is but one Sifan girl, barely worth a glance. No one would miss her if she went missing, and they could easily say she had gotten lost to a snowstorm in the mountains and was ravaged by the ice should her crew come looking. And what if her crew back on her family’s ship, The Temeria, hadn’t even noticed she was gone? What if by the time they had noticed her absence they were halfway across the ocean?!

_ What would Roldahn do... _

She wriggles in their grasp, kicking and squirming incessantly and when that doesn’t work finally she lets out a shrill scream. She hopes someone will hear,  _ anyone _ . She hopes that even despite her flaming red hair and obvious Sifan features, they will stop this kidnapping and she’ll have a second chance to land a good punch on Darius’s snout…

She needs  _ him _ to come and find her...

“Quiet!” She was promptly hit. Not hard enough to cause any dizziness, but hard enough to serve as a warning that the next one won’t be so gentle. “You’re getting what you deserve, vermin,”

“And just what do I bloody deserve!? Just take your stupid silver and let me go!”

“This isn’t about the silver anymore, it’s about telling everyone we’re sick of the Sifa abusing us!”

“What abuse?! I just cheated you idiots! And if I hadn’t dropped my bleedin dice you thick-skulled twits wouldn’t have even caught on! ‘Tis ridiculous what you’re doing! I don’t know what the Sifa have done but I had naught to do with it! ‘Tain’t nothin but silly assumptions!” She kicked harder, raising her voice. Even if paladins heard her, if  _ he _ heard about this  _ he  _ wouldn’t let this happen!

“You’re all alike! It’s about time we-”

“Halt!” Another voice plummeted into the alley she was being dragged out of. The two Vapra froze and upon a white, hooded figure bounding down the alleyway they instantly dropped Sera and made a run for it.

“Paladin! Paladin!”

When the word paladin registers in her mind, Sera flings herself to her feet and tries to forge her own escape. If the common Vapra wasn’t kind to her, then the paladins to the All-Maudra would be even worse. The penalty for gambling and for cheating could be months locked away in the Ha’rar dungeon. And the penalty for gambling and cheating  _ and being a pirate  _ would be even worse...

Just as she swears she’s safe in the clear. Hiding herself behind a corner. She feels a strong hand grab her by the hood and yank her face down into the snow. Being forced to eat the snow so many times, it made her wish she was back in Cera-Na. Sprawled on warm sands with toes dipping into clear waters-

Dragged again, she can see nothing but the trail her heels leave in the snow. She wishes someone will follow the tracks and rescue her. Anyone at all. But she knows that hope is futile. 

Again, she struggles in the paladin's grip, but it is no use. Her assailant is stronger, clearly practised in apprehension. The more she twists and turns the more his tight grip pulls at her hair.

“Bleeding twisting nether!” She curses as her scalp is yanked.

“I’ll bleeding twisting nether you to the middle of next week I swear by Ka, Sera!” The paladin snaps. His voice...familiar, too familiar. “Cheating? Scamming the nobles? Gambling!? Are you trying to make my job harder!?” 

Needing to confirm her suspicion, she stabs her heel into the snow and this time manages to jolt herself out of his grasp. To which she quickly stumbles to her feet, standing ready to tackle the paladin if he tries to deck her. 

Luckily, he does not. Just stands there, letting her take him in with a sour expression twinging his features.

Looking up, there is a face very much like hers. With skin the colour of golden sands, layered in a thick array of brown freckles - which was by far his most striking features. He wears the standard uniform of the Paladins: decked out in silver plating that gleams in the sunlight. A thick white hood engulfs his face - save for the stubborn strands of light strawberry blonde hair that peek through.

Her brother, Leto, is unimpressed and undeniably tired. The way he looks exhausted from nights spent patrolling halls and training rigorously in the courtyard pulls at her heartstrings. For he is nearly unrecognisable from the smiley boy she once knew as a childling. Like a stranger who sounds like a friend; a painting where the face has been blurred from time and elements. 

She wonders if Maudra Mera gives him enough breaks to function like a normal gelfling. But when that thought passes, she snuffs out her concern. Her desire to inquire. Kindly asking the sisterly voice in her head to be quiet so she can hear herself think rationally.

Right now he wasn’t her brother. He was a paladin, loyal to the All-Maudra first, to himself second, and his family third. No matter what she said now, he was going to arrest her. And enjoy it.

“Leto, what a joy ‘tis to see you,” She mumbles sarcastically.

The tensions between the siblings is bitter. Something sour stirs inside her at his lack of response, as if she wasn’t worth a proper addressal. She isn’t sure what he wants from her to earn a proper response. An apology? It was several trine too late for that. An admission of some sorts? Leto wasn’t the type, and she could never deal with sickly feelings anyway. A fight?...no, that’s the last thing she wants, to tangle with a Paladin.

“Tis being a paladin not all ‘tis cracked up to be? Tis snagging your little sister and airing your authority compensation?” She resorts to taunting.

“You say that like all you’ve done is leave fizzgig droppings on someone’s chair,” He remarks dryly. 

She can see his jaw clenching. “You were caught gambling, and cheating…”

“You’ve got no proof,” She folds her arms over her chest. Even if he searched her, her loaded dice were now lost. And how could he prove the silver was not hers? Darius wouldn’t claim them or he’d risk exposure for having gambled it away in the first place.

“All I have to do is breath and the locals get riled up,”

“They get riled up because the only Sifa they ever interact with is the likes of you. Can you really blame them for being suspicious? And with the current rumours…” 

There it is again, the mention of... _ rumours.  _

“I’ve been away on the waters for nearly a whole trine so pardon me if I’m out of the loop with current events,” Sera clarifies briskly. “And the likes of me? As opposed to the likes of you? Or are we still at the stage where you pretend you’re just a red-haired Vapran?”

Leto grimaces. “That isn’t fair,” 

“You don’t know the first thing about fairness,”

He shakes his head. “I go along with the current, fit in as best as I am able. I don’t splash about and then complain about getting wet,”

Her jaw drops. That comment infuriated her. So much so that she couldn’t even begin to formulate the words to voice just how much that comment made her want to smack him. He was always making excuses for them. Always seeing it from their end but never hers, never his people’s...

Just like the day he left.

“If you come willingly, this will be a lot easier,” He states, judgement narrowing his eyes.

“And if I don’t?”

He doesn’t say anything, but his gaze grows sterner….

  
  
  



End file.
